If PM Modi had mentioned note ban, would have been chased away: Rahul Gandhi at Chhattisgarh rally

Congress President Rahul Gandhi waves to the crowd during a rally at Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh (PTI Photo)

A day after the second anniversary of demonetisation, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said at a rally in Chhattisgarh that had Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned demonetisation in his speech in the state Friday, the crowd would have chased him away. Rahul addressed two rallies in Rajnandgaon, the home district of Chief Minister Raman Singh, and one in Pakhanjore, Bastar.

At Rajnandgaon, Rahul said, “Two years have passed. Narendra Modi came in front of the TV and said this is a war against black money… In today’s speech, why didn’t he talk of demonetisation. If he had done it by mistake, the crowd would have chased him off the stage.”“…you were standing in line in a war against black money. Did you see one rich person in line? The truth is that every thief in India converted their black money into white with the help of Narendra Modi,” he said.

Rahul added, “He (Modi) had promised to put 15 lakh rupees in every bank account. Is there one person who got 15 lakh rupees?… He used to talk about giving jobs to two crore youth. Has anyone received employment? He used to talk of giving farmers correct price (for produce), he used to talk about loan waivers… Have your loans been waived? So one after the other, he lies.”

“First he used to say I will fight against corruption… Today he has started talking about Naxalism. But the promises he made, he has never fulfilled.”Rahul added, “Nirav Modi ran away with Rs 35,000 crore, Mehul Choksi ran away with 35,000 crore rupees, Vijay Mallya ran away with Rs 10,000 crore…when the farmer asks for a small waiver, Narendra Modi says that I will not do.” He reiterated the promise of a loan waiver within 10 days if the Congress comes to power in the state.

Attacking Singh, he said, “Rs 5000 crore has been ruined in chit fund scams… Was there an enquiry?…It is true that whether it is Narendra Modi or Raman Singh, they openly do corruption.”

Hitting back at Rahul, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said the Congress president was lying. Responding to Rahul’s question if anyone saw any rich black money holder getting out of a big car and standing in queue during demonetisation, he said, “Rahul Gandhi was among those black money holders who got out of his Rs 4 crore car to stand in queue.”

“A long period of four generations, the way Gandhi family had accumulated ill-gotten wealth through black hard work was all over by just a stroke of an order of the democracy of this country,” he added.(With ENS Delhi)